AgustaWestland and CAE Partner to Provide AW139 Helicopter Training in the U.S.

ANAHEIM, CA -- At Heli-Expo AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and CAE announced that AgustaWestland AW139 initial helicopter type rating and recurrent training is now available in Morristown, NJ. The training programs are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under part 142.

The AgustaWestland program utilizes a newly approved Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified Level D AW139 full-flight simulator, located at CAE's Northeast Training Center (NETC).

The addition of the AW139 program in the North East United States dramatically increases the full-flight simulator capacity available for AW139 customers and allows AgustaWestland to provide its growing AW139 customer base with Level D simulator training close to their home base. The simulator is configured with the upgraded 4-axis autopilot system, thereby utilizing the latest training technologies to improve safety, reduce pilot workload and lessen overall cost of AW139 ownership.

"Our customers look to AgustaWestland for the world's most advanced helicopters and they demand the same level of service and capability from our training academies," says John Ponsonby, AgustaWestland Senior Vice President Training. "Our partnership with CAE affords our customers access to the world's most advanced and comprehensive helicopter simulation and training solutions."

"AW139 operators can now have access to high-fidelity training in two locations-in Europe and in North America," says Marc Parent, CAE's Chief Operating Officer. "Pilots will be able to practice different scenarios which would be impossible in live training sessions. The curriculum is operationally-oriented and leverages the latest simulation-based technology throughout the training."

Through the Rotorsim consortium, CAE and AgustaWestland also offer customers full Level D simulator training on the AW109 Power, AW109LUH and AW139 types at the Rotorsim facility in Sesto Calende, Italy.